Kindred Hearts
by GlazedAndConfused
Summary: Two kindred hearts... one night. [OneShot].


**: Kindred Hearts :**

by

_- GlazedAndConfused -_

* * *

**DISCLAIMER**

If only I was Ken Akamatsu. Then I'd be rolling in the money... as well as the copyright clauses.

* * *

"..." - denotes speech  
"(...)" - denotes whispering  
_Italics_ denote thoughts and Japanese dialogue.

* * *

"More shots of _sake_, please."

"_Hai_."

The bar was a small and cosy little outlet on the outskirts of Kyoto; a little too dimly lit for the liking of some people but still a pleasant enough place to be for a quiet drink or a nightcap. Keitaro Urashima was sat on a stool in the far corner of the bar area, away from the more congregated areas of the small building. The glimmer of the dim lighting that was reflected off the lens of his glasses cast a veil over the looks of sorrow and loneliness deep within them. His face was haggard and unshaven; his hair ruffled with a few grey strands growing.

"Here's your _sake_, Urashima-_san_."

"_Arigato_."

Over a year since the argument with Naru, he had been frequenting this bar. At first, it was one night a week; as time dragged on, however, this periodically turned to every night per week - his visits went to the extent that he would stay way beyond closing time and fall asleep at his spot, having to be dragged home. The former _kanrinin_ of Hinata Sou sighed whimsically as he reminisced times gone by at Hinata Sou. When he first met Naru and the rest of the harem, albeit not exactly on the friendliest of terms. The impromptu train ride to Kyoto where he bumped into Naru after the two _Toudai_ aspirants failed their second entrance exam. The day at Hokkaido that would change the lives of not only him and the auburn-haired girl, but also those of everyone else at Hinata Sou forever.

But all of these memories were exactly that... memories. Fragments of his mind that were replayed mentally whenever sights or sounds would remind him of past events all those years ago. The Urashima man took a kind of escapism in the fact that his life worked out for him for a change, when Naru declared her love to him in Hokkaido all those years ago, and even went so far as to prove it by French kissing him on the shoreline.

This was merely hollow comfort; it did nothing to ease the pain of separation from his wife. Naru, at first, had no qualms about the fact that they would be continuously moving from city to city, country to country... in fact, she even welcomed it. One of the auburn-haired _Toudaisei_'s dreams was to go travelling. As days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, however, Naru soon started to become slightly tired of continuously travelling and being away from home for as little as a fortnight to as long as a year on end. Small bickerings turned into fully-blown rows, which often resulted in the two ignoring one another; Seta and Haruka often playing the part of peacemakers to help the two stay together and prevent them falling out.

The decisive argument fell on the night before their third wedding anniversary. The auburn-haired woman gave Keitaro an ultimatum... his career or their marriage. Ever since then, he had never forgiven himself for their separation and eventual divorce. He often scolded himself for choosing such a career as archaeology; a career which would mean constant travelling and adaptation to foreign cultures and customs - the aspects which Naru eventually grew tired of. Less than a fortnight later, upon arriving back in Japan, he announced that he would be standing down as kanrinin of Hinata Sou - amidst many protests, especially from Shinobu and Kanako. Even Motoko tried convincing him to stay, telling him that the travelling was all part and parcel of archaeology.

They never managed to make him change his mind, and in turn he handed the deeds for ownership of Hinata Sou over to Kanako.

Downing one shot of sake after countless others, he placed the glass in front of him and stared at the bottle of the fermented liquid so that the dim lighting glinted through the bottle and thought back to the time after he found out who his promised girl was. He and Naru were happy together. Motoko was happy with the progress she was making in her studies, and her romantic literature. Shinobu was happy with her studies and her cooking. Mutsumi had her watermelons. Kitsune had her job in Haruka's Tea House and her past-time hobby of freelance writing. Sara and Su had each other and their mischief-making machinery. Life couldn't have been better.

_Life couldn't have been better... hah, I knew it was all too good to be true..._ he thought bitterly, a wry chuckle escaping from his lips as he downed another shot of _sake_ from the small glass._ Life with Naru, fulfilling my dreams as an archaeologist... only one of them wasn't going to last._

Now, even he had to admit - although he didn't show it - that he was an emotional wreck, filled with sorrow and loneliness; no matter how much he wanted to let go of the past, he couldn't. The only companions he had left with him since returning to Japan were his discoveries and his memories. He watched as the amber liquid in the glass bottle swirled around inside after he poured one shot after another into the small glass.

"_Ara_... excuse me sir, is this seat taken?" asked an innocent woman's voice, spoken with the softness of satin and the fluidity of water.

"No. Help yourself," he replied numbly, not even bothering to look at the person who asked.

The woman took the seat beside the Urashima man, and noticed something about him. The eyes. Looking past the feelings of sadness and regret reflected in those eyes, she could recognise him. The face. Although the grim expression on his face betrayed it, she could recall all the times she saw that face with a smile that would make anybody's day become a lot brighter.

"Kei-_kun_...?" The woman beside him looked at him inquisitively, her lips pursed and a fingertip placed on them. "Is... is that you?"

"...hmm?" Keitaro slowly turned to look at the woman beside him.

"_Hai_! It is you, Kei-_kun_!"

Even several years after moving away from Hinata Sou, it was still easy enough for the former _kanrinin_ to recognise the Okinawan woman. It was almost as if her happy-go-lucky nature was easily picked up on; as if it were some sort of aura which alerted people to her presence before she was even seen. Mutsumi had left Hinata Sou not long after Keitaro stepped down, and returned to Okinawa to continue helping her family with the watermelon farm. Even so, he still occupied many of her thoughts. For somebody who had graduated from Tokyo University a matter of years earlier, one would have questioned her reasons for returning home and taking up a tedious job such as watermelon farming when she could have just searched for a prolific job. But none of that mattered to Mutsumi... despite graduation from the most prestigious university in the whole of Asia, she wanted to do what she felt happy with.

Keitaro looked at the woman before him. She still retained that smile; the smile that, with a single flash, would appear to make the troubles of the person it was directed at melt away completely. Her hair, still as brown as dark chocolate, was no longer braided like it was years before; instead it was just left to flow, straight and untied, further accentuating her already mature looks. Her brown eyes still held the look of infinite happiness. Her looks still held that captivating level of stunning, unrivalled beauty and innocence, but with added accentuation, and her figure still retained it's shape from a few years before. So it came as no surprise that she would attract all kinds of attention - sometimes unwanted, sometimes unconsciously appreciated - wherever she went; either she decided to take no notice of it, or she didn't realise her own attractiveness.

"M-Mutsumi-_san_? Is... is that you?" Keitaro was stunned. While he still thought on a daily basis about everyone in Hinata Sou, he couldn't believe just how he had managed to forget how captivating his female companion looked.

The Okinawan woman suddenly lunged forward enough to almost knock her fellow _Toudai_ graduate off his stool and wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight as if he were a life preserver. "It really is you, Kei-_kun_..." she said, slowly beginning to sob happily at seeing the man before her. She still loved him, like she did a few years earlier, but going for such a long period without seeing him had only intensified the love she had for him and solidified the place which he held in her heart. "I m-missed you so much..."

Keitaro slowly lowered his hand on Mutsumi's back and rubbed it tenderly, placing his other hand on the back of her head while running his fingers through her hair gently. "Shhh... don't cry. I missed you too, Mutsumi-_san_," he whispered down her ear in a calming, soothing manner. "It's okay... we're together again now."

Mutsumi lifted her head from his shoulder and stared into his eyes, still smilling as she basked in the warmth of the comforting aura given off by the Urashima man - an aura that was all too familiar to her. Her only wish was that she could have basked in that same aura a bit more often. After a few minutes, she stood up and straightened her clothes, a mild blush adorning her pretty features. "Oh my..." she whispered merrily. Placing a hand over her mouth and giggling slightly, she sat back down on her stool, clasping her hands back together and placing them on her lap.

"Don't worry about it," Keitaro replied, placing his hand on the back of his head and chuckling slightly.

A few moments of silence passed between the two before Mutsumi spoke up again, her trademark still on her face. "I am so glad that we've seen each other again." Her face lost it's smile as something else entered her mind. "I'm still sorry about what happened between you and Naru-_san_..."

Keitaro's spirits dropped the moment the name of his ex-wife was mentioned. He looked away and bowed his head so his fringe covered the look of sadness and regret that returned to his eyes. Mutsumi placed a hand to her mouth as she realised the mistake she had made by bringing up the subject he wanted to talk about the least. The watermelon-loving woman raised her free hand from her lap and placed it on her companion's hand, gently rubbing the back of it with her thumb. "Ara... _gomen_, Kei-_kun_. I forgot that you didn't want to talk about her."

"It's okay, Mutsumi-_san_..." replied Keitaro, slowly turning his head so he was facing Mutsumi again; a grim smile fixed on his face.

Mutsumi frowned. "Does... does it still hurt? Do you still miss her?"

"It does hurt... even now, whenever I think about all the times we shared together..." he placed a hand on his chest, above his heart, "...it hurts right here. I miss her more than anything, and it's all my fault. If only I had chosen to consider pursuing a career in something else other than archaeology... if only I didn't aspire to become more like Seta-_san_. Maybe then, me and Naru would have still had a future together."

"You can't keep blaming yourself for something that wasn't down to you though, Kei-_kun_," the Okinawan woman softly spoke, while looking in Keitaro's eyes in an attempt to try and reassure him. "You weren't to know that travelling the way you did would strain and pressurise your and Naru-_san_'s relationship."

"Still... if I had known that Naru didn't want to live a life of constant change, then I wouldn't have bothered becoming an archaeologist. Perhaps I should have just stuck to my first choice, which was Law. I know it's easy to say that in hindsight... but perhaps things would have turned out a lot better if I had chosen that instead."

The slightly older woman became silent, a pensive look on her face as she continued to stare in the younger man's eyes. "I apologise... I shouldn't have brought the topic up."

"Don't worry about it, Mutsumi-_san_..." Keitaro muttered quietly, downing another shot of _sake_. "You know what they say... 'a trouble shared is a trouble halved'. I suppose that's the case here." he continued, his face resembling a slightly happier visage than a few moments earlier. "So... how are things going for you?"

It was Mutsumi's turn to fall silent. She looked away slightly and withdrew her hand slowly, immediately telling Keitaro that something was wrong.

"Mutsumi-_san_? Is something wrong?" Keitaro asked, the smile on his face replaced by a look of concern.

"I..." Mutsumi's eyes slowly began to mist up and become moist, only increasing her best friend's concern. Not one to let her true feelings be known to many people, the Okinawan woman tried her best to hold her tears back. That, and she didn't want Keitaro to be worried, especially when he had a lot of things of his own on his mind. She feigned a smile and put on a happy facade, although her misted eyes told Keitaro that her feelings were the contrary. "...it's nothing, really. You needn't worry, Kei-_kun_."

"Mutsumi-_san_..." The Urashima man reached over and placed his hand on Mutsumi's, holding it slightly; an understanding smile on his face. "You can tell me if something is wrong."

The emotion that Mutsumi felt and tried holding back finally became too much and overwhelmed her as she began to sob quietly, making Keitaro shift his stool closer to her and wrap a comforting arm around her. "I... I broke up with my last boyfriend," she explained. "I really thought we both had a future together; he reminded me so much of you in many different ways... but it was me who was giving out all the loving, and never receiving anything in return. He never even gave me so much as an '_aishiteru_' when I was feeling down..." The hot, stray tears that burned at her eyes rolled from her eyes and down her cheeks, dropping onto the laminate flooring below from her chin, where they shattered like glass thrown against a concrete wall.

"But... why would he not love you in the same way you loved him?" Keitaro answered, confused as to how the lovely woman beside him would ever have her heart taken and broken before her eyes. "I mean, look at you... you're a very lovely, smart and beautiful woman; any man who would be lucky enough to have you as a girlfriend would be a complete fool to let you go so easily."

Mutsumi managed a faint smile despite the recalling of bad memories, an equally faint blush making it's way onto her cheeks. "Even now, you still know how to make me feel better, Kei-_kun_... thank you."

Keitaro placed a hand on the back of his head and chuckled lightly. "Don't thank me for telling the truth." He looked towards the barman, and then back towards Mutsumi, his trademark heart-warming smile adorning his tanned face. "Can I get you a drink or anything, Mutsumi-_san_?"

"J-Just sake for me, please." the Okinawan woman replied, her eyes still slightly red and puffy but the tears having stopped falling moments ago and her smile back on her face.

Taking sips of each of their drinks from their glasses, nothing more was said between the two as they merely smiled warmly at each other; the fact that they were simply with one another was comforting enough.

Mutsumi took the opportunity of this silent period between the two to speak up. "Kei-_kun_... there is something I need to tell you. But... why don't we go back to my place so I can tell you in privacy? I rented out a small apartment a few minutes walk away from here. Why don't you come back with me and stay for the night? I could do with the company."

"O-Of course." Keitaro replied, his heart racing even more.

The smile on Mutsumi's face brightened considerably. "Let's finish our drinks then."

* * *

After finishing their drinks and paying for them, Mutsumi and Keitaro both walked out of the bar. The cool night breeze of the Kyoto air provided a refreshing feel to their walk back to the Okinawan woman's residence. The autumn night gave a picturesque setting to the scene; brown leaves fell off the trees that were lined up along the pavements on each side of the road. The night sky was the most beautiful part of the scenery; there was hardly a cloud to be seen. The sky looked like a midnight blue veil of silk, embroidered with diamonds as the stars twinkled; the pallid glow of the crescent moon only adding to the beauty.

Mutsumi wrapped both her arms around the waist of her male counterpart, and gently leaned in so she could rest her head on his shoulder and bask in the warmth emanating from his body. Keitaro simply looked down and smiled at the Okinawan woman; ever since the divorce, he had longed to walk together, side by side, with a person he knew and was close to. In fact... he had almost forgotten what it was like to have a companion, when all that accompanied him since that day were his memories and his works.

Eventually they made their way up some steps and along a balcony before reaching a doorstep. "_Ara_... well, here we are," Mutsumi spoke, pulling a pair of keys out of her bag. Opening the front door, she stepped in and slipped off her shoes, watching as Keitaro did the same.

As they went into the living room, Keitaro couldn't help but take notice of how neat and organised everything was. It was very much unlike the apartment she rented across the road from Haruka's tea shop when she was still living in the small hot spring town, which was entirely empty, bar a net of watermelons in the corner of the living room and her _kotatsu_ table in the middle of the room; this living room containing a brightly-coloured three-piece suite with a coffee table in only a couple of feet away, and linen curtains a shade of green that resembled a watermelon. The walls were painted equally as brightly as the sofa and armchairs, providing a soothing atmosphere.

The kitchen was kept well in order, although Keitaro could never understand why she still insisted on keeping a net of watermelons in every corner of the living room. The bedroom, although small, contained a bed that was enough for two people to sleep in at once, and a small chest of drawers with a lamp on top. Above the headrest was a lamp that Keitaro assumed was for when Mutsumi decided to do a bit of light reading before going to sleep. Looking out the window, he saw a building across the road that he thought was the reason why the Okinawan woman chose to rent that specific apartment; an indoor hot-spring, remembering her fondness for bathing in the outdoor _onsen_ at Hinata Sou.

Looking back into the living room, he saw that Mutsumi was sat on the sofa, a tray on which there was a teapot and two cups laid on the coffee table in front of her. She patted the seat next to her, motioning Keitaro to come and sit next to her; the warm smile still adorning her face. Keitaro made his way over to the sofa and took his place on the seat which the Okinawan woman had motioned to.

"Tea, Kei-_kun_?" she offered, her voice still as soft as satin.

"_Hai_, please." Keitaro replied, taking the cup of steaming tea after his Okinawan counterpart poured it in. Another moment of silence passed between the two as they found comfort in one another's company, staring into each other's eyes and simply smiling between sips.

_Kei-_kunMutsumi thought wistfully._ You don't know how glad I am that we have come across each other for the first time in years._ Although appearing outwardly calm, on the inside, her heart was racing at an unimaginable rate._ Perhaps... perhaps now, I can tell you all about how I've felt ever since we first met... but how do I tell you? "Kei-_kun_... you're special to me". That doesn't sound right. "I know that you still love Naru-_san_ despite your divorce to her... but I hope to be the woman who replaces the hold she has on your heart"? Nor does that..._

Keitaro was also thinking along similar lines. _I'm glad that we've met again like this... I remember the first Christmas we had together, on that snowy night, when Naru made me choose between you and her once we reached the top of the steps that led to Hinata Sou... that was the hardest decision for me to make, as I realised I had feelings for the pair of you. My feelings now for you are just as strong as they were then, even though I still miss Naru... damn, thinking about telling you is a hell of a lot easier than actually doing it... oh, _Kami_, what am I going to say?_ His heart and mind also started to race as his nervousness began to set in.

After taking another sip of his tea, he sighed nervously, then turned to face Mutsumi, a slight blush on his face as he tried avoiding the older woman's gaze. "So, Mutsumi-_san_... what is it you wanted me to talk about?" His heart began to race even more, as he noticed Mutsumi shifting ever so slowly closer to him, a mild blush adorning her features.

"It's about my... feelings for you." Keitaro maintained his calm expression, but inwardly he took a deep sigh of relief, as the blush that was already adorning the watermelon-loving woman's face became brighter and even more noticeable - obviously a hint that what she had to say was nothing bad. "I've always been wondering... what it'd be like to have you as my boyfriend. This has been since you helped me out of the sea and back onto the beach, when we first met in Okinawa... that was when I first fell in love with you. Since then, my feelings have only gotten stronger."

If one were to try describing the look on Keitaro's face as gobsmacked, that would have most likely been the understatement of the year. The former kanrinin barely avoided dropping the cup of tea held in his hand, his mouth agape. He took a deep breath and regained his composure before breaking another silence that had fallen over the two.

"I must admit, Mutsumi-_san_..." the Urashima man started, "ever since me and Naru divorced... I found myself wondering what it'd be like to be in a relationship with one of you girls. At first, I found myself wondering how it would feel to be in a relationship with Motoko... but that would have been less likely than me finding the most valuable treasure ever in one of my outings, and she would also have probably considered making me a eunuch if I had tried anything. Then I considered Kitsune; a bit too... shall we say, rowdy for my liking? Su, Shinobu and Sarah have blossomed into lovely young women, but the age gap would have just been awkward; especially with Sarah... and then my mind came to you; the woman closest to me, on par with... Naru."

Mutsumi blinked in surprise, and moved her head until she was staring at Keitaro once again, an unreadable expression on her face. "Oh my... and... what conclusion did you come to?"

The redness on Keitaro's face intensified as he tried finding the correct words to say. "That... I also have strong feelings for you, Mutsumi-_san_."

It was the Okinawan woman's turn to be speechless. She could have sworn that time had stopped, as she could no longer hear the ticking of the clock, or the soft fluttering of the linen curtains in the gentle breeze that came through the open window. All she could hear was the racing of her heart in unison with her mind. Her outside expression was still gobsmacked, but inside she was jumping in complete elation.

"You know that I still have feelings for Naru..." he continued with a grim smile on his face, finding it easier to look Mutsumi in the eyes, "but any hopes we had of solidifying a future together came to a screeching halt over a year ago. I can't keep pining over somebody who I'm never likely to get back together with again; I have to move on..." The smile turned into a frown. "...but I don't know if I can stop feeling the way I do for her. Even more than a year after we divorced... I don't know if I can let her go."

Mutsumi smiled back at him, reaching out and taking one of his hands in both of hers. "I know it will be hard to let Naru-_san_ go, Kei-_kun_..." she spoke, almost in a motherly tone, "but like you said, you have to move on. What good would it do to go into a new relationship and yet still have feelings for the woman who wasn't the right one for you? With all due respect, you and Naru-_san_ had completely contrasting personalities; that is what led to the downfall - you had all the time in the world, but she was impatient."

Keitaro suddenly felt a lot happier. If there was one thing that he could always rely on with the Okinawan woman, it was that she would always lend support and comfort when he needed it, although he would never ask for it. "_Arigato_ for understanding... Mutsumi-_san_."

The watermelon lover's smile grew even wider upon seeing the change in his demeanour. "Ara... while we are still on the subject of Naru, Kei-kun... I must confess, that I was awfully jealous of Naru-san... when you were both together."

Keitaro's head snapped up in surprise. "W-What? But... why would you be jealous?" he asked, confused.

"Because she was the only one of us who was lucky enough to have you at the end of the day. I bear no grudge against you for the times when you strived to win her heart... but in my opinion, she did not deserve you. The times which I comforted you after she had put you down... I could have easily confessed my feelings there and then to you. But I didn't, because I was willing to let you go back to Naru if it was her you would have felt the happies with. But it hurt... a lot. I didn't want to let you go. I wanted nothing more than to keep you for myself, and start a future together with you. But you would have been happier with Naru-_san_, and I felt that your happiness was more important than my own."

"M-Mutsumi-san... I never knew..."

"It wasn't just me who had feelings for you."

"...it wasn't?"

"No. Everyone had feelings for you, in their own unique ways. Shinobu, even to this day, still has an undying love for you... she sees you as more than a friend, but as a future partner... she looked up to you the most, despite your accidents with Naru-_san_ and the others. Kitsune-_san_, despite her tricks, saw you as an older brother, as did Su. Motoko-_chan_ was highly reluctant to confess to her feelings... but you were perhaps the only man in her life who did more for her than anybody else; you helped her confront her fears and taught her that all men were not the same."

"...I did all that?"

"_Hai_. And that is why I love you, Kei-_kun_... you are entirely unselfish, caring, and willing to place the benefit of others before that of your own."

Unable to hold back her emotions any more, Mutsumi placed a tender hand on Keitaro's cheek, then slowly leaned in, closed her eyes and closed the gap between her face and his, pressing their lips together. She noticed the slightly bewildered look in the former _kanrinin_'s eyes as she closed the gap, but she could not help herself; she had longed for this kiss for a matter of years. To finally kiss her love interest the way she wanted to was like a dream come true... and that feeling was only heightened when she felt Keitaro begin to reciprocate the kiss a matter of seconds later.

_This is it..._ she thought, blanking out all of her surroundings and focusing on nothing more than the person she was with. _This is the kiss that I waited all these years for... and I am finally sharing it with the man I love._

Keitaro's thoughts, yet again, were running along a similar tangent. _This feeling... I've not felt this way for a long time... it feels kind of wrong, since I still love Naru, but I have to put the past behind me and look to the future... and why not share my future with Mutsumi-_san

After a few moments, which the two could have claimed felt like forever, Mutsumi slowly - almost teasingly - pulled back and rested her forehead against Keitaro's. As she stared into his eyes, a thought appeared in her mind. In a way, both were highly similar with one another; both were slightly clumsy and un-coordinated. Both were third-year _ronins_ before making it into Tokyo University. Both were romantically inept, having not been in any previous relationships. Both were also recently heartbroken and were recovering alone.

Continuing to stare into his eyes, Mutsumi discovered the look in his eyes that was all too familiar to her from when they first met; behind his spectacles lay the same gentle, caring and loving look which she had seen many times before. Whenever she saw that look, it felt as if all her troubles had been neatly swept off the table with no traces left to suggest that she even had them in the first place.

Feeling her heart begin to start racing once again, she pulled back a bit more before licking her lips and taking a deep breath. Before Keitaro could speak up, however, she placed a gentle finger on his lips.

"Kei-_kun_... how would you feel if..." She broke off the sentence, trying to think of the right words to say.

"If what... Mutsumi-_san_?" Keitaro replied, encouraging her to continue.

"If... I wanted to be the next woman in your life? We both feel the same way about each other... we both have much in common... I think we could really make an attempt at a fresh start."

Keitaro sat and thought about the offer for a few moments, before coming to an inevitable conclusion. "Although I still have feelings for Naru, I can't keep looking back to the past at what could have been... so, Mutsumi-_san_, I accept your offer whole-heartedly."

Mutsumi's eyes widened. "You... you do?"

"_Hai_."

A sudden rush of emotions hit the Okinawan woman with the force of a thousand pneumatic drills going off at once, as her eyes immediately started to moisten; the tears of joy that had gathered beginning to roll down her cheeks in no time at all. She lunged forward and, for the second that time tonight, wrapped her arms around the former Hinata Sou _kanrinin_ as if the world was about to end. "Kei-_kun_... those were the words I wanted to hear from you all night... and now that you've said them, it feels like all my Christmases have come at once..." she quietly sobbed, her face the epitome of complete joy.

Keitaro gently tilted her head up so they were staring directly into one another's eyes, and slowly closed the gap between his lips and hers in another loving kiss; one which Mutsumi wasted no time in reciprocating. If this was a dream, she certainly didn't want to wake up.

The two broke the kiss off a few moments later, with Keitaro leaning in to Mutsumi's ear.

"_Aishiteru_, Mutsumi," he whispered, the affection in his voice there for all to hear.

"_Aishiteru_, Keitaro," the Okinawan woman replied.

That night, they both slept in the same bed under the warming glow of the moonlight, reunited in the best way possible.

Two kindred hearts.

Joined as one.

* * *

**: _END_ :

* * *

**

**: AUTHOR'S NOTES :**

Yes, I'm still alive, for those of you who are still awaiting updates to my stories. :P This was a little one-shot I started a couple of nights ago to try and get my creative juices stirring again. Sorry if the ending seems kinda rushed; that's because... well, it was rushed. Hehe.

But still, it's been a while since I last posted something serious up, _ne_? So here I am, sitting at the computer in the dining room, listening to Alice In Chains at full volume... they were t3h r0x0rz.

I know I've promised that Chapter 5 of _Sakura Kisses_ would be up sometime in the immediate future (that was a month ago or so...) but my so-called "leave of absence" has been extended due to work priorities... and my second year of college starts again in less than two weeks.

Well, those, and the fact that I had a girl friend from Liverpool coming down for the week on the 15th, so I couldn't come onto the computer then.

I have also started a new project, which Joshua Falken knows of; he also has the task of pre-reading it for me. It's a darkfic called _Obsessed With Your Touch_. The premise? Kanako is still unable to let go of the love she has for Keitaro, even after he and Naru got married; if anything, she's been longing more and more for his loving touch. What lengths will she go to, to ensure that she and Keitaro get together and remain that way? Will be rated 'M' for some explicit scenes and some obscene language. Progress with this one? Halfway through Chapter One... but it's still nowhere near completed. :P

That's all for now. Until my next update, _ja ne_!

P.S. ..oh yeah, did I mention that Alice In Chains ruled back in the early 90's, and still do:D


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